Review: Hannah Montana's Mitchel Musso impresses at House of Blues

Mitchel Musso and his band perform at House of Blues on September 18, 2009 (Nick Masuda/Orlando Sentinel)

Mitchel Musso and his band perform at House of Blues on September 18, 2009 (Nick Masuda/Orlando Sentinel) (Orlando Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel)

Nick MasudaSentinel Staff Writer

Much of the world knows him as Oliver, Hannah Montana's sidekick on the popular Disney show.

Doesn't look like he likes that label all that much.

Capped by a shirt-less encore of his Billboard hit, "Hey," Mitchel Musso showed a healthy House of Blues Orlando crowd Friday night that he is growing up and no one is going to stop him.

And, it worked.

Musso, who showed off two tattoos on his upper back as he walked off the stage for the last time, had plenty of energy and showcased a growing number of songs that are equally catchy and story-telling.

His vocals are a work-in-progress, really showing nice range during "How to Lose a Girl," but being drown out by overzealous guitar play during "Get Out."

As is the case with any pop-rock artist, fan interaction is an integral part of the show, and the young ladies in the building wouldn't stop screeching the entire night. He rarely had to ask for their feedback, as they screamed every time he wiped his brow with a towel (which he flung into the crowd after calling it "gross") and begged him to throw water on them throughout the show (he obliged many times).

While pushing his rock star image, the show wasn't typical rock, as there was no foul language or questionable agenda ... Musso seems to know his audience, most of which had to be chaperoned by parents to even attend the show. Being guided by Disney doesn't hurt either.

Musso even shared the stage with gig-opener, Jimmy Robbins, during his finale, choosing not to hog the spotlight, but push Robbins' new album on a crowd that was there to see him. That isn't rock star, that is someone very conscious of the influence he had over this crowd.

The Texas native's opularity also benefitted KSM, an all-girl band that played for 30 minutes in between Robbins and Musso. The group of teenagers nearly upstaged Musso, with lead-vocalist Shelby showing complete control of the stage, bounding from one side to the other, interacting with fans and her three guitarists in the process. It showed stage presence beyond their years, with the band's first album only being released recently.

Who says that a bunch of teenagers can't be mature? On Friday night, they were perfect role models for a group of impressionable minds.